The Subtlety of Feeling
by Dana Hale
Summary: It's subtle, but it's there. I think those fun and flirty P/O moments are going to be few and far between on the show until we get to season 3. So read this to get your fix.
1. Jealousy

TITLE: The Subtlety of Feeling

RATING: T

SUMMARY: It may be subtle, but it's there. P/O

DISCLAIMER: Back when I was a little girl, I was treated with Cortexiphan. So I have strange abilities, one of which is writing stories based on a certain TV show that I borrowed the characters from and no one dares to sue me because I have a gun and I can set rooms on fire.

* * *

Jealousy

At the sound of the front doors of the lab being opened, both Walter and Peter looked up from their work to see a distinguished man in a suit and black trench coat standing in the entrance holding a small bouquet of flowers. The man looked around, and then finally locked eyes on Walter and Peter.

"Excuse me. I'm looking for Olivia Dunham. I was told I could find her here?"

Upon hearing this, Peter squinted at the man and sized him up while Walter scowled and stared. Before they could answer him, Olivia peered out from her office door. She had a look of confusion on her face.

"Lucas? What are you doing here? Why aren't you in Germany?"

The man turned toward her with a huge smile on his face. Walter and Peter pretended to get back to work in silence, but they continued to watch and listen to the scene before them with curiosity.

"Hi Liv," Lucas said as he gave her a quick peck on the cheek and handed her the flowers. "You look good. I thought I'd surprise you."

Walter whispered in Peter's ear, "I don't like that man."

"Be nice, Walter," Peter whispered back, but in his mind he agreed with his father.

"You brought me flowers. This can't be good..." Olivia joked.

"You know me too well, Liv," he said with a nervous chuckle. Then his smile faded. "I actually have some news for you." He looked at his watch and noted it was around noon. "Listen, I just got off the plane and I haven't eaten yet. Can I take you to lunch?"

Olivia glanced over at Peter. She caught him staring at her but he quickly averted his eyes.

"Um, sure. Just let me get my coat," she answered. She walked back to her office, laid the flowers down on her desk, grabbed her coat, and walked back out into the lab.

"Hey guys, I'll be back later," Olivia said to Walter and Peter. "Call me if you find out anything."

And with that, Lucas put his hand on Olivia's back and guided her out the door.

"Who was that Peter?" Walter asked with a child-like voice.

"I don't know," Peter said grudgingly.

"You should give Agent Dunham flowers, son. Perhaps even a nice box of chocolates."

"Walter..."


	2. Curiosity

Curiosity

Olivia came back to the lab an hour later.

"Hey. Anything new?" she asked as she walked down the few steps toward Peter.

Peter was sitting in front of the computer and looked up to notice she was alone.

"Hey. Nope. Nothing new."

"Where's Walter?"

"Oh, well, Walter realized he needed to get some more syringes which led him to crave an Orange Push Up. So Astrid took him out for a treat."

"I see." Olivia said amused.

"So..." Peter began. He had that sparkle in his eyes as he smirked at Olivia, hoping she would talk about her lunch date.

"So...what?" Olivia asked, apparently clueless of what he was after from her.

"So...you went out for lunch."

"Yeah." She took off her coat and draped it on the back of Walter's chair. She noticed Walter's scribbled notes on the desk and picked up the paper tablet to try to decipher any of his findings on their latest case. She could feel Peter's eyes staring at her. When she turned around to look back at him, sure enough, he was still staring. And smirking.

"What? I can't go out to lunch?" Olivia asked, with her own smirk on her face.

"Do you have a brother I don't know about?" Peter asked, still keeping the smile on his face so that he wouldn't come across as being too demanding for information.

"Oh you mean Lucas? No. Lucas is not my brother." Olivia finally gave away at least that much.

"Huh. Lucas. I would have guessed his name was Romeo."

"Okay," Olivia sighed in defeat and plopped down in Walter's chair. "If you REALLY must know..." Olivia smiled despite herself. "Lucas is a defense attorney. We met on a case I was prosecuting back before I joined the FBI. One thing led to another...and then, well, he just wasn't ready for a commitment and it dragged on longer than it should have. So when I got the job offer here in Boston, I left."

"So what's he doing in town?"

Olivia's demeanor immediately changed from a playful mood to a serious one.

"He came to warn me."

"Warn you? About what?"

* * *

AN: Next up....Concern


	3. Concern

Concern

"So are you going to tell Broyles about this?" Peter asked.

"I wasn't planning on it, no."

"Olivia, I think you should," Peter said with concern in his voice.

"Really Peter. Do you know how many death threats I've received in all my years of being in this line of work? It comes with the job. I can't let things like this affect me. I'm not worried about it."

"Well obviously it's enough of a concern to make your old flame come all the way from Germany just to tell you that one of the guys you successfully prosecuted in an old court case escaped from prison and that his last words before being taken away was 'I'm gonna to kill you bitch' as he looked right at you."

"Lucas is just being overly-protective as he always has been. It's one of the reasons why it didn't work between us. He never wanted me to be in this line of work--too dangerous. But what he didn't understand is that what I do for a living is in my blood. It's who I am, and he couldn't change that."

Peter sighed and made a mental note to himself-- _don't be overly-protective_.

"Well, you got me on speed dial if you need me, right?" Peter smiled.

"Absolutely," Olivia laughed.


	4. Turned On

Turned On

It had been a long day for Peter and Olivia, interviewing suspects for this current case they were working that was just as mysterious as it was never-ending. Olivia drove the SUV through the dark streets on her way to drop Peter off in Cambridge and call it a night.

Peter noticed she seemed on edge and she kept looking in the rear-view mirror.

"Everything okay?" Peter asked.

"I'm not sure. That van behind us has been following us closely since we crossed the bridge."

Peter turned around to look. Just as he did, the driver of the van hit his accelerator and purposefully rammed into the back of Olivia's SUV.

"What the hell?" Peter blurted.

"Hang on!" Olivia shouted as she abruptly tore out of her lane with a screech of the wheels and sped up past the car in front of her.

The van quickly copied her moves and gained speed to pull right up along side of Olivia. It was then that she saw the driver's grinning, sickening face and she realized who it was.

"That's him! That's Davidson, the guy who escaped from prison!" Olivia yelled to Peter.

Davidson made a quick dart to the right and shoved his van into the side of the SUV, catapulting Olivia and Peter into the next lane and bumping into other cars, sending them into a domino-effect series of car wrecks around them. Olivia gained control back of the SUV and screamed, "Oh he is SO not getting away with this!"

Olivia floored her vehicle and drove like mad to reach the van. Peter held on for dear life. "Olivia...are you sure this is the smart thing to..." He was cut off when Olivia made another swerve to maneuver around more cars that were getting in her way of keeping up with the van. When the SUV righted itself again, Peter looked incredulously at Olivia who had her game face on. She had one thing on her mind, and that was to get this guy, and get him good.

When Davidson pulled out his gun and stuck it out the window of the van, Peter and Olivia ducked just in time as he pulled the trigger and sent bullets flying through their windshield.

"Don't you think now is the time to call for backup?" Peter cried.

Olivia pulled her gun out the holster with her right hand and then unbuckled her seatbelt as she started to prop herself out the window. "Peter, take the wheel!"

"Olivia, are you INSANE???"

Peter realized very quickly he had no choice but to take the wheel as she let go of it and pushed half her body out the driver's side window. She took two precise shots at the van; one shot to the front wheel and one shot to the back wheel, effectively popping the tires. When Davidson poked out his window to fire a shot at her, Peter pulled her back into the SUV just in time as the bullet whizzed past her head.

"You ARE INSANE, Olivia!"

Peter grabbed the CB radio and called for backup as the van started into a spin, lost control, and crashed into a fence. Olivia bolted out of the SUV with gun in hand. Davidson scrambled out of the busted-up van and made a run for it.

"FREEZE DAVIDSON!" Olivia yelled. When he didn't listen, Olivia shot him in the leg which caused him to trip and fall. Olivia caught up to him and dove on top of him, grabbing his arms and effectively holding them behind his back with her knee. She shoved the barrel of her gun to the side of his head.

"Attempted murder of a federal agent is going to put you away for a VERY long time," she seethed in Davidson's ear.

Peter jumped out of the SUV and stood proudly beside her as the backup arrived with sirens blaring.

Oh yeah. Chicks with guns turn him on.


	5. Enjoyment

Enjoyment

Returning back to the SUV with Peter, Olivia stood still and stared at her banged up vehicle with all its dents scrapes, busted parts, pieces, and bullet holes. She started to laugh. It was a laugh that shook through her whole body.

"Granted this was plenty of excitement for me for one night, Olivia, but I don't see how it's at all funny," Peter said. "That guy tried to KILL you. And me, right along with you."

Olivia stifled her laugh but couldn't help continue to chuckle a bit. "I'm sorry, Peter. It's just that I can already hear Broyles yelling 'DUNHAM! Get in my office NOW! Can you explain to me how it is that you've managed to wreck not one, not two, but THREE FBI fleet vehicles within the span of a year and a half?"

Her impersonation of Broyles made Peter smile.

"Oh I don't know. It's not THAT bad, really," Peter said sarcastically as he poked his finger in one of the bullet holes in the windshield.

And then as if right on cue, the front bumper fell off with a loud thud as it hit the pavement. Peter quickly had to jump out of the way so that it didn't land on his feet. Olivia giggled. The sound of her giggle was beautiful to him. It was rare and he soaked it in. It instantly threw him into a state of happiness and reminded him of the time they were in the bar and he had pulled off that card trick on her.

"Never a dull moment when you're around, Dunham," Peter's eyes danced as he looked at her with amusement.

"Well, at least it's still drivable," she said of the SUV. "Come on. Let's get you home."

Home was the last place he wanted to be right now. Not when he was enjoying her company. He wasn't ready for the night to end.

"Oh no. I can't go home now. Not after all this. What I need is a DRINK."

* * *

AN: Hmmm, that would make a great segue to, I don't know, say, a BAR SCENE! And I'm so nice I'm not making you wait. Read on!


	6. Smitten

Smitten

After downing a few drinks, Olivia looked over at the pool table across the room.

"Wanna shoot some pool?" she asked Peter as she motioned with her head towards the table.

"You do realize what you're asking, right? I've made a fortune playing pool against shady pool sharks. You wouldn't stand a chance," he teased.

"A real gentleman lets the lady win," she said with a sparkle in her eye. "Come on. It'll be fun!"

She grabbed him by the arm and yanked him up off the bar stool. He had just enough time to snatch up his beer bottle before she pulled him through the mass of people to the back of the room where the pool table awaited.

"Aw now come on. You know I have a reputation to uphold...and 'gentleman' ain't it!" he shouted to her above the bar noise.

She looked back at him with the most playful smile he had ever seen on her. He couldn't help but be blown away by it. He realized that he was about to see a side of her that she hadn't revealed to him yet, and that thought excited him.

Olivia reached up to grab a cue stick off the wall only to be stopped by a rather large, beer-bellied, smelly man wearing a dirty old T-shirt, saggy jeans, and a trucker's hat. A group of his friends who shared his physique and fashion sense ganged up around Olivia.

"This is OUR pool table, lady," the smelly man spat as he grabbed the cue stick out of Olivia's hands.

Peter immediately stepped in the middle to protect Olivia, ready to throw some punches if anyone so much as touched her.

But Olivia remained calm and placed her hand on Peter's shoulder to hold him back. Her facial expression told him with full confidence that she could handle this on her own and punches wouldn't be necessary. After a moment, Peter shook his head in amazement, held up his hands in defeat, and backed down.

"What do you say I play you for it?" Olivia said to the man. "You and me. Nine ball. Winner gets the table for the rest of the night."

The man snickered as he looked Olivia up and down and determined that this tiny woman couldn't possibly know anything about pool. His friends were whispering to each other and laughing.

"Alright," the man sneered. "You're on. Let's get this over with little lady."

The gang broke up and everyone settled in to watch. Olivia removed her suit jacket to reveal a black tank top underneath that hugged all of her curves and showed off her arm muscles. She handed her jacket to Peter. "It's in the bag," she whispered in his ear. She grabbed his beer from him, took a swig, replaced it back in his hand, and gave him a wink as she turned to walk to the table.

_What has gotten into her?_ Peter thought._ Must be the alcohol._ Whatever it was, he liked it.

The man was in position to shoot to make the break when Olivia pushed his cue stick down onto the table to halt his strike and said, "Ladies first."

Peter chuckled to himself at her audacity. He took a gulp of his beer and watched intently at the man's next move. His friends were laughing again, not to mention checking out Olivia now that she was wearing less clothing. This didn't go unnoticed by Peter because he was checking her out too, and their reactions to her made him feel possessive.

Olivia held the man's stare. Much to his dislike, he finally relented by silently stepping away and letting her take his place. Peter wasn't surprised that the man conceded. He knew with all too much familiarity that it only takes one look from Olivia Dunham to make you feel like you'd do anything for her. She had that magic in her that allowed her to always get her way.

Olivia barely hesitated in taking aim. With a strong and quick stroke of the stick, she hit the cue ball with finesse just like a professional. It barreled down the table striking the solid yellow 1 ball first. In a wild chain reaction, the rest of the pool balls dramatically spread out across the table. The 3 and the 5 split out and sunk into their respective corner pockets.

Peter grinned from ear to ear as he leaned back against the wall, beaming with pride. So she was holding out on him. He should have known better.

Olivia didn't even crack a smile as she chalked up her stick and lined up her next shot. The man showed regret in letting her break. His friends were now making fun of him.

The 1 ball sank in easy for Olivia, and the cue ball stopped nicely in line behind the 2 for a clean shot to the side pocket. One by one the balls sank in with no misses. Peter admired how her body leaned in and over the table to reach some of the more difficult angles. She took command of the table. Peter was thoroughly impressed by the variety of shots she could handle. And just to show off at the end of the game, she made a beautiful bank shot to put the 9 ball into the side pocket for the victory.

"Guess it wasn't your night," she smiled at the man as he and his friends started to walk away.

One of the man's friends brushed against Peter and said under his breath, "You're one lucky man,"

Peter could only stare at Olivia with a complete look of awe. He had never met anyone who could do the things that she could do. He was smitten.

* * *

AN: Next up, either "Tenderness" or "Affection", still playing around with a few ideas...


	7. Tenderness

AN: That delicious dancing scene in the promo for "Brown Betty" was the inspiration for this chapter....

Tenderness

After playing a round of pool in which they were basically evenly matched, Peter and Olivia decided to try to one-up each other with trick shots. Whoever couldn't make the other's trick shot had to take a drink. He knew he was in trouble when they both had downed enough alcohol to make the night feel less inhibited.

He got away with staring at her more, being drawn into her eyes and her own stare. He couldn't quite decide what to call the color of her eyes as they kept dancing back and forth between hues of blue and green. He saw different shades with each change of expression on her face. When her lips formed a smile, her eyes were more powder blue, soft and inviting. When she wore that mischievous grin, they were periwinkle, with a sprinkle of something else indescribable that captured his attention. And when she was contemplative, her eyes were a smooth dark teal.

It was getting late; really late. The jukebox was playing a slow song and the bar had quieted down as one by one a guy would take a girl's hand and lead her out to the dance floor.

As Olivia bent over to take another shot at the cue ball, he noticed the deep curve in her back. He wondered what it would be like to place his hand there and guide her around the dance floor. He smiled as he watched her squint and swoon a bit as she tried to line up her shot; the alcohol was making it harder for her to be precise. When she frowned and stood up to readjust her stance, she pushed her hair back behind her ear in frustration. Then she leaned back down to the table and tried a different angle.

"No, not like that," Peter said. He came up behind her, enveloping her in his arms. He took his time in helping her line up the shot. She turned her head to look at him, only to find him mere inches from her face.

His lips brushed her ear as he whispered, "Go for it," as he released her from his hold and stood back to watch her shoot.

She blinked to refocus, took a deep breath, struck the cue ball....and missed the shot.

"Damn it Peter, you did that on purpose didn't you? I had it right the first time!"

He grinned and noted her eyes were definitely periwinkle at the moment. She picked up another one of the shot glasses on the side table and was preparing to send it down the hatch, but he stopped her before the glass hit her lips. He carefully took the glass out of her hand and replaced it back on the table, his eyes never leaving hers.

"So how are you at dancing?" he asked, holding her gaze.

The jukebox was still playing slow songs. His question surprised her; her eyes turned teal.

"It's been a while," she said. Her soft voice gave away the sentiment that they were now speaking of something that came close to crossing that line between them. A line that had been so subtlety and unspeakably drawn. But yet when he found himself reaching for her, she did not resist as they walked hand-in-hand out to the dance floor.

It was a bit tentative at the beginning, her looking at him, him looking at her, gauging each other's reactions to being in such close proximity to one another. Olivia was the first to break eye contact when she rested her head down on his shoulder, allowing Peter to draw her in more tightly. He held her tenderly and closed his eyes while burying his chin in her hair. The gently flowing music guided them to where they needed to go. He felt her relax in his arms.


	8. Affection

Affection

The music ended but neither wanted to move. They stood there in the middle of the dance floor still in an embrace.

"I suppose we should get going home," Peter mumbled into her hair.

"I suppose," she sighed into his shoulder.

"Should we call a cab?" Peter asked, still not moving.

"Yup," she answered as she lifted her head and then decided she couldn't hold it up and plopped it face-down on his chest.

"Okay."

"Yeah."

"Ready to go then?" Peter asked, still holding her. He began rubbing her back subconsciously with his right hand.

"Uh huh."

"Olivia..." he whispered in her ear.

She seemed to startle in his arms when she heard her name. "Huh?"

"Are you falling asleep?" He smiled to himself.

"What?"

He laughed quietly and finally released her from his grasp to look at her. She had a look of peaceful contentment on her face. He didn't know if this was because of the amount of alcohol she had consumed or because of the way they were dancing. He hoped it was the latter. She slowly opened her eyes and looked into his.

"Oh," she said. "Sorry..."

He watched her amusingly. "No problem. Come on, let's go."

The cab ride to Cambridge was quiet as Olivia fell asleep on the way. Peter looked at his watch. It was four in the morning. He hoped that Walter hadn't done anything stupid while he was away and that he would be sleeping rather than whipping up some new food experiment in the kitchen. Peter didn't feel like answering any questions from Walter about where he had been and who he was with. Especially since Olivia was the answer to those questions.

The cab stopped in front of his house. He reached over and tapped Olivia on the shoulder.

"Hey. Olivia."

She took in a deep breath, sat up in the seat, and opened her eyes.

"It's four in the morning," Peter informed her. "Why don't you come in and stay here. We have to be up anyways for work in about three hours."

Olivia groaned and rubbed her forehead.

Peter got out of the cab, paid the driver, and helped Olivia out from the back seat.

"Walter's not waiting up for you, is he?" she asked with dread.

"Let's hope not. If he is, I'll let you explain this one!"

Peter turned the key in the door and let them in. It was dark inside and Walter was fast asleep in his bed in the dining room. Olivia immediately headed for the couch.

"You can have my bed. I'll take the couch," Peter whispered so as not to disturb Walter. "You want a glass of water or something before we turn in?" he asked while walking to the kitchen.

"Sure," she replied.

He got out two glasses, one for her and one for him. He filled them with water and then returned to the living room.

"Here," he said as he approached to hand her the glass. But she was already curled up on the couch sleeping. He quietly set the glasses of water on the side table next to the couch. He took the blanket that was lying on Walter's chair and carefully draped it over Olivia. Kneeling down in front of the couch, he regarded her affectionately. Tucking her hair reverently behind her ear and touching her cheek, he murmured, "Goodnight, 'Livia."

He sighed and stood up, heading to his own bed, knowing that in just a few hours they would both be back into professional work mode and this night would be but an unspoken dream.

End

AN: Hope I didn't disappoint the majority by not having them kiss at the end, but I like to stick to canon! This was a study on Peter's reactions to Olivia and her just kind of hanging out unaware of just how much he is really into her. UST is much more effective for that I think, and a kiss is not subtle hence my title. Anyways, thanks for reading and I appreciate those who reviewed!


End file.
